An ontological metamodel for cyber-physical system safety,security, and resilience coengineering

Software and Systems Modeling - Cyber-physical systems are complex systems that require the integration of diverse software, firmware, and hardware to be practical and useful. This increased...     

Multi-modal control framework for a semi-autonomous wheelchair using modular sensor designs

This paper presents the hardware and software control framework for a semi-auton omous wheelchair. The hardware design incorporates modular and reconfigurable sensors and corresponding low-level software architecture. Two control schemes are discussed. Assisted control that augments the user inputs by providing functionalities such as obstacle avoidance and wall following. And, semi-autonomous navigation which takes higher level destination goals and executes a simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm. We also propose an adaptive motion control with a online parameter estimation. The paper presents both experimental and simulation results.     

Design and performance of a combined secondary ion mass spectrometry-scanning probe microscopy instrument for high sensitivity and high-resolution elemental three-dimensional analysis

State-of-the-art secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) instruments allow producing 3D chemical mappings with excellent sensitivity and spatial resolution. Several important artifacts however arise from the fact that SIMS 3D mapping does not take into account the surface topography of the sample. In order to correct these artifacts, we have integrated a specially developed scanning probe microscopy (SPM) system into a commercial Cameca NanoSIMS 50 instrument. This new SPM module, which was designed as a DN200CF flange-mounted bolt-on accessory, includes a new high-precision sample stage, a scanner with a range of 100 μm in x and y direction, and a dedicated SPM head which can be operated in the atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy modes. Topographical information gained from AFM measurements taken before, during, and after SIMS analysis as well as the SIMS data are automatically compiled into an accurate 3D reconstruction using the software program "SARINA," which was developed for this first combined SIMS-SPM instrument. The achievable lateral resolutions are 6 nm in the SPM mode and 45 nm in the SIMS mode. Elemental 3D images obtained with our integrated SIMS-SPM instrument on Al/Cu and polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate) samples demonstrate the advantages of the combined SIMS-SPM approach.     

Reversible electron-transfer reactions within a nanoscale metal oxide cage mediated by metallic substrates

Transition metal oxides exhibit a rich collection of electronic properties and have many practical applications in areas such as catalysis and ultra-high-density magnetic data storage. Therefore the development of switchable molecular transition metal oxides has potential for the engineering of single-molecule devices and nanoscale electronics. At present, the electronic properties of transition metal oxides can only be tailored through the irreversible introduction of dopant ions, modifying the electronic structure by either injecting electrons or core holes. Here we show that a molybdenum(VI) oxide 'polyoxometalate' molecular nanocluster containing two embedded redox agents is activated by a metallic surface and can reversibly interconvert between two electronic states. Upon thermal activation two electrons are ejected from the active sulphite anions and delocalized over the metal oxide cluster cage, switching it from a fully oxidized state to a two-electron reduced state along with the concomitant formation of an S-S bonding interaction between the two sulphur centres inside the cluster shell.     

Value revelations: Disclosure is in the eye of the beholder.

In interpersonal interactions ranging from job interviews to romantic dates, it is common for people to tell each other about what they care about and value. Six experiments explored the general hypothesis that people view their disclosures about what they value as more revealing of themselves than do others. This effect is demonstrated across a variety of contexts, ranging from the brief and anonymous to the more in-depth and social. A source of it is explored in actors' feeling that their most important values are especially important to them. Studies suggest that this feeling involves actors' sense of the intensity with which they hold their values, as opposed to their beliefs about the uniqueness of those values. Studies also show that actors' tendency to view value disclosures as more revealing than do observers is somewhat specific to value disclosures--that is, actors do not view their relatively off-the-cuff responses (Study 4) or their disclosures of their nonvalues (Study 6) as more revealing. Implications of this research for self-other differences and for interpersonal intimacy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lipolysis and proteolysis of modified and producer milks used for calibration of mid-infrared milk analyzers

Our objective was to determine if lipolysis or proteolysis of calibration sets during shelf life influenced the mid-infrared (MIR) readings or calibration slopes and intercepts. The lipolytic and proteolytic deterioration was measured for 3 modified milk and 3 producer milk calibration sets during storage at 4°C. Modified and producer milk sets were used separately to calibrate an optical filter and virtual filter MIR analyzer. The uncorrected readings and slopes and intercepts of the calibration linear regressions for fat B, fat A, protein, and lactose were determined over 28 d for modified milks and 15 d for producer milks. It was expected that increases in free fatty acid content and decreases in the casein as a percentage of true protein of the calibration milks would have an effect on the MIR uncorrected readings, calibration slopes and intercepts, and MIR predicted readings. However, the influence of lipolysis and proteolysis on uncorrected readings was either not significant, or significant but very small. Likewise, the amount of variation accounted for by day of storage at 4°C of a calibration set on the calibration slopes and intercepts was also very small. Most of the variation in uncorrected readings and calibration slopes and intercepts were due to differences between the optical filter and virtual filter analyzers and differences between the pasteurized modified milk and raw producer milk calibration sets, not due to lipolysis or proteolysis. The combined impact of lipolysis and proteolysis on MIR predicted values was <0.01% in most cases.     

Isometric contraction induces the Ca2+-independent activation of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase

Shear stress and tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors have been shown to activate the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) in a Ca2+/calmodulin-independent manner. We report here that isometric contraction of rabbit aorta activates eNOS by a pharmacologically identical pathway. Endothelium-intact aortic rings were precontracted under isometric conditions up to 60% of the maximal phenylephrine-induced tone. The NO synthase inhibitor NGnitro-L-arginine (L-NA) and the soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor NS 2028 induced an additional contraction, the amplitude of which depended on the level of precontraction. The maximal production of NO by isometrically contracted aortic rings (as estimated by the increase in cGMP in detector smooth muscle cells in a superfusion bioassay) was observed during the initial phase of isometric contraction and was greater than that detected following the application of acetylcholine. The supplementary L-NA-induced increase in vascular tone was inhibited by the nonselective kinase inhibitor staurosporine and the tyrosine kinase inhibitors erbstatin A and herbimycin A. Another tyrosine kinase inhibitor, genistein, the calmodulin antagonist calmidazolium, and the selective protein kinase C inhibitor, Ro 31-8220, had no effect. Coincident with the enhanced NO formation during isometric contraction was an increase in the tyrosine phosphorylation of endothelial proteins, which also correlated with the level of precontraction. Thus, isometric contraction activates eNOS via a Ca2+-independent, tyrosine kinase inhibitor-sensitive pathway and, like shear stress, seems to be an independent determinant of mechanically induced NO formation.     

Stigmatized sources and persuasion: Prejudice as a determinant of argument scrutiny.

Two experiments examined the viability of several explanations for why majority group individuals process persuasive messages from stigmatized sources more than those from nonstigmatized sources. in each study. majority group participants who either were high or low in prejudice or were high or low in ambivalence toward a stigmatized source's group were exposed to a persuasive communication attributed to a stigmatized (Black, Experiment 1; homosexual, Experiment 2) or nonstigmatized (White, Experiment 1; heterosexual, Experiment 2) source. In both studies, source stigmatization increased message scrutiny only among those who were low in prejudice toward the stigmatized group. This finding is most consistent with the view that people scrutinize messages from stigmatized sources in order to guard against possibly unfair reactions by themselves or others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maximization of the annual energy production of wind power plants by optimization of layout and yaw‐based wake control

This paper presents a wind plant modeling and optimization tool that enables the maximization of wind plant annual energy production (AEP) using yaw‐based wake steering control and layout changes. The tool is an extension of a wake engineering model describing the steady‐state effects of yaw on wake velocity profiles and power productions of wind turbines in a wind plant. To make predictions of a wind plant's AEP, necessary extensions of the original wake model include coupling it with a detailed rotor model and a control policy for turbine blade pitch and rotor speed. This enables the prediction of power production with wake effects throughout a range of wind speeds. We use the tool to perform an example optimization study on a wind plant based on the Princess Amalia Wind Park. In this case study, combined optimization of layout and wake steering control increases AEP by 5%. The power gains from wake steering control are highest for region 1.5 inflow wind speeds, and they continue to be present to some extent for the above‐rated inflow wind speeds. The results show that layout optimization and wake steering are complementary because significant AEP improvements can be achieved with wake steering in a wind plant layout that is already optimized to reduce wake losses. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.